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| A hole-in-one helped keep Miguel Tabuena in championship contention in his ISP home stand. Graham Uden/Asian Tour |
STA. ROSA, Laguna—Miguel Tabuena had himself a day in Round 2 of the International Series Philippines on Friday at the Sta. Elena Golf and Country Club here.
Already solid on Thursday with a three-under-par 69, Tabuena sizzled for a seven-under-par 65 to go 10-under-par halfway into the four-day event.
The sensational round was highlighted by a hole-in-one in Hole 14.
"Yeah, it's not every day you make a hole-in-one, but I was glad I kept it together. You know, there's a lot of golf to be played, but it was nice, it's been probably six years since my last one and only second in competition. So, it was nice that it was here in front of friends, family, and my home club," said the Olympian and Lexus ambassador.
However, Tabuena's explosion was not enough to take the lead as Thailand's Sarit Suwannarut went six-under-par 66 on Friday to stay on top at 14-under.
"I’ve been having some pretty good days. I know my game, and I’ve just tried to stay calm and focus on what I have to do. So far, I’ve been doing that pretty well. I just hope I can keep the momentum for the next two days—but you never know what can happen in golf, so we’ll see," said Suwannarut, who went eight-under-par 64 in Round 1 to seize early control of the tournament.
Tabuena is currently tied with Kazuki Higa for second place.
Filipino veteran Angelo Que also had a seven-under Round 2 to go nine-under-par two days in, ending up in a five-way tie for fourth place.
Justin Quiban is the third-best Filipino with a six-under-par after two rounds, currently in a tie for 19th place overall.
Former world number one Dustin Johnson, a day after putting in nine birdies, had a slow Round 2, going one-over-par, but he remains in the running as he is four-under-par in total, just above the three-under-par cutoff for the final two rounds.
In total, 66 golfers from all over the world will see Day 3 on Saturday.
